Why are there brown / black marks on my Hellebores?

About the Presenter:

Steve Bradley

Steve Bradley M.A M.Hort(RHS) Steve grew up on a mainly rose nursery in Lincoln before moving on to work at a larger nursery / garden centre as he gained qualifications. He studied at Pershore, Cannington and Writtle Colleges as he progressed to the prestigious RHS National Diploma in Horticulture (now known as Master of Horticulture).

He then spent over 20 years teaching Horticulture at every level from amateur to degree at colleges around England, specialising in Propagation and Nursery Stock (the production of young hardy plants). Since leaving his last college in 1996 to go freelance, he has also taught on subjects as varied as soils, pruning, turf-care, vegetable growing and the control of pests and diseases both privately and at colleges.

Steve appeared in two television series in the early 1990s; Plant Life and Garden Doctors, and in a series of how-to videos on topics including Propagation, Clematis and Roses. He has written (or co-written) around 45 books on various gardening topics. Along with wife Val he wrote the support material for the Ground Force TV series. His most recent work is a revision of the Grafter's Handbook, a book that was constantly at his side as both a student and a lecturer.

He writes articles for several magazines and answers live phone-in questions almost every weekend throughout the year on BBC local radio in Kent, Surrey / Sussex and Essex. Thanks to the internet, these can be heard anywhere.

He and Val have worked for The Sun newspaper for over 20 years, writing the Gardening page with Peter Seabrook and answering hundreds of readers' letters every year.